Lincolnshire’s Call of the Wild Festival is back for its sixth year! This is a community-driven event where the music comes first, tickets stay affordable, and you won’t be bankrupted by a round of drinks.
Florence Black will headline Friday’s Main Stage, and it’s a booking that feels entirely earned. The Welsh rock trio have grafted their way up through relentless touring and songs that actually stick in your head, the kind of hard work that built the rock scene in the first place.
“We’re all huge fans of Florence Black,” says festival booker Raz White. “Their rise has been built on hard work and pure talent, and to see them headline Call of the Wild means the world to us. I first booked them in 2018 and knew right away they had something special.”
Sunday night brings something different: Finland’s Von Hertzen Brothers will close the weekend with their progressive rock meets folk meets hard rock sound. If you’ve never caught them live, you’re in for something that doesn’t fit neatly into any box, which is exactly the point.
Friday’s Southall Lawless Stage gets Myke Gray headlining, bringing that anthemic British rock he’s known for. As a founding member of Jagged Edge and SKIN, Gray’s songwriting has been part of the UK rock fabric for years.
Here’s where it gets interesting: Tomorrow Is Lost are reuniting for one final show, five years after calling it quits. “It already feels like no time has passed,” says Cass King. “We’ll be rewinding to 2020 with the best of Therapy and the Shadowman EP. With Marc Rush flying in from Vietnam, expect a huge night as we dust off the cobwebs one last time.” That’s the kind of special moment that makes independent festivals worth the trip.
The Main Stage special guests read like a proper rock fan’s wishlist: Glamour of the Kill making their long-awaited return, The Five Hundred bringing their relentless energy, and Chez Kane delivering that unmistakable 80s-inspired pop rock swagger on Sunday evening.
The rest of the bill spans everything from Texas rockers Ratchet Dolls to homegrown talent like Star Circus, Thieves of Liberty, Matted, The Soul Revival, Marc Valentine, Meme Detroit, Voodoo Sioux, Beautiful Freakin Weirdo, Catalysis, Kuro, Hell’s Addiction, and Wild Fire.
VIP ticket holders get Thursday’s Welcome Party headlined by The Needful Things, which is the right way to start a festival weekend!
What makes Call of the Wild work is its independent spirit and focus on community. Built on word of mouth and a genuine love of rock, it’s the kind of event where affordable food and drink aren’t a bonus but standard. That matters.
Tickets range from £60.50 to £154 depending on age. For more information and ticket links, visit the Call of the Wild Festival website.
